Peter's Blog
Top 25 New Pizzerias
Hi Again,If you are a regular here then it’s probable that you all have your own list of favorite pizzerias. So here’s a little fuel for the forno, a link to a recent Huffington Post posting of Food and Wine.com’s Top 25 pizzerias. Bear in mind, this list represents what they call “New Guard” pizzerias, not the venerable oldie but goodies like Frank Pepe’s or DiFara’s. After you read about…Read More…
Peter’s Blog, February 22nd
Hi Everyone,We had a great demo today at Johnson & Wales University (JWU –JayWoo as we call it) by Chef Ben Roche, the Executive Pastry Chef at Moto Restaurant in Chicago. For those who don’t know about Moto, it is one of the few molecular gastronomy restaurants in the United States, featuring a 20 course tasting menu (also a 10 course version for the less adventurous) consisting of wildly imaginative…Read More…
Peter’s Blog, February 15th
This past week has seen an historic change in the world. Aside from all the newsworthy drama related to the transfer of power and revolution in Egypt, a country I visited just three months ago, one thought kept coming to my mind about it: this is the first time in, perhaps, 7,000 years that the people of Egypt have not had a “Pharaoh” ruling them. Maybe the word Pharaoh…Read More…
Peter’s Blog, February 8th
We’ve received a nice thread of comments on Michael Hanson’s Guest Column, To Be a Sacred Baker, so I think he may have touched a nerve. One thing I realized after reading the article is that we’ve been using the word “artisan” very liberally here at Pizza Quest to help define what our website is all about, which we characterize as, “A celebration of artisans and artisanship.” Frankly, though,…Read More…
Peter’s Blog, February 2nd
Hi Again, On Friday of this week we will be posting a new Guest Column by Michael Hanson, a wood-fired baker, living and working in the UK. In his column, he tells of his transition from a career as a serious, professional, third generation baker to becoming an artisan, committed to cooking with fire as a way of reconnecting with the sacredness of it all. It’s a fascinating piece….Read More…
Peter’s Blog, January 25th, 2011
Hi Everyone, Ever since we posted the Instructional videos from The Fire Within Conference we’ve been getting a number of requests to discuss how to make a home oven perform like one of those wood-fired brick ovens in the video. It’s tempting to say,”No way, can’t be done,” but the fact is that most of us don’t own a brick oven and even those who do still have to cook…Read More…
Peter’s Blog, Jan. 18th
Hi Everyone, Things are moving fast and furious, so here are a couple of updates: On Wednesday I’ll post a new recipe, this time for one of my favorite toppings, balsamic onion marmalade. This is one of the most popular recipes I’ve ever developed and has appeared in at least three of my books. I have a new trick or two to add this time around and will give you…Read More…
It Just Keeps Getting Better
This week on PizzaQuest we introduce you to the Sweet Water Gypsies, two pizzaiolas from southern Utah. Look in the Instructionals section, posting on Thursday, for the video we made together featuring a wonderful arugula topped pizza with fresh mozzarella, grana padana cheese, bacon and crushed tomato sauce (the recipe for the sauce was posted last week). Also on Thursday, in our ongoing series of fundamental culinary building blocks, I’ll post a…Read More…
Peter’s Blog, Week Three
Here we are, already into our third week of PizzaQuest.com and the site just keeps filling up with more great content. If you check out Coming Attractions you will see our publishing plan and blueprint not only for this week but for the weeks to come. I won’t repeat all that here but I do want to give you a few new updates: –For those of you who read my…Read More…
Week Two, Yes, We’re Back!
Hi Everyone, We’re back with all new material, as we will every week. Sometimes it will be a new webisode, sometimes a new instructional, and always a new blog entry from me and a Guest Column from our invited Contributors. This week we have both a webisode (the first in a four part series on Pizzeria Mozza, which we will post on Thursday) and a new instructional video filmed at…Read More…